This was (and probably still is for all I know) prevalent on the Current Events board on GameFAQs. Every day you'd see at least a couple "post here and I'll rate you" or variations thereof. What makes people so desperately want to receive replies in their topic?
"Rate my winamp playlist", "rate my desktop", and so on..
We're looking for someone to relate to, aren't we? We're looking for that one person to say "Yeah, I like band x too".
We're looking for confirmation that our voice is heard. Because being alone, isolated, is the worst thing we can imagine.
When my 'net connection goes down, I fight back a wave of panic and calmly, methodically troubleshoot the situation, locating the cause and trying to figure out what needs to be done to restore my beloved broadband. If it's something outside of my power to fix, I just sit there and cry. (then I remember that I have lots of unwatched anime on my HD and get to it)
I don't know when or why this change occurred in me. When I was a kid, I was quite content being alone. But now, being alone.. I can't handle it. If I didn't have my cat, I'd surely go insane. And sleep better at night, never being woken up at 5 AM.
What is it that pulls us together, that makes us want to be friends, when our geographic locations are scattered across the globe?
For most recent additions to my friendslist, it's the fandom. I recognize my need to have someone to relate to, to obsess together over our favorite characters, discuss the deeper meaning of words and events in a fictional world.
Then there are people that interest me when we barely have a common interests at all. We can relate to each other as fellow human beings.
So anyway, here's a welcome aboard to everyone I've friended since I started using Semagic. Some of the dates may be inaccurate because Semagic logs the time the change is detected (which is checked for manually) - and I didn't check it very often back then.
_thesadist_ (today) - added me after one comment in her LJ. Bonding over shared fangirlism. Found on my FoF page thanks to obito. I read all your entries today except the long fic entries (read the first chapter, will read the rest later) - I'm impressed by your writing. And my inner grammar nazi rejoiced at seeing someone use the word "supposed" where far too many people online would wrongly use "suppose". I HATE it when they do that! naiad_kitty (two days ago) - aaaah, the cuteness. Found on my FoF page thanks to indigoskynetYou make the cutest kitty hats ever. And you seem like a really nice person.. That's about what I can say so far, since I don't really know you at all.
obito (since November 6th) - added me sort of out of the blue. Had briefly exchanged a few comments. You were on my mental "friend after you get to know them better" list, which is why it made me very happy that you friended me first. Found each other thanks to kimivalkyrieindigoskynet (since Nov. 3rd) - Found on my FoF page thanks to devosamaJudging by listed LJ interests, we have only general interests in common; anime, books, chocolate and sleeping. But I relate to much of what you write. By the way, the first time I wanted to comment in your LJ was when you went to vote. I wanted to cheer you on and thank you for taking the time to vote. So, here's a belated thanks.
gekkou_hayate (Since Oct. 10th) - Found through looking for people with common interests. Even more of a Hayate fangirl than myself (jeez, you even got sick for Haya-chan's birthday), had previously seen you elsewhere on the net and went all "ooo, that person has an LJ", but exchanged a few comments before adding. Happy to be added back. ^_^devosama (since Sep. 27th) - Also found through interest search, also "ooo, they have an LJ" - had been drooling over your stuff on deviantart for a while. Hadn't expected you to add me back, very happy that you did. Went back to the beginning and read every post of yours. I'm intrigued by more than just your art. I'm slowly getting to know you and enjoying the ride. I keep worrying that my fangirlism is annoying to you. I call you "sempai" because it's the title/honorific that just feels right. And I love the porn you draw. ^_^undead_zero (Since around the same time) - Xeiroe! I know (and I use that term very loosely) you from way back in the good old days of CE, where we.. never really talked. But I noticed you, sometimes even thought "How long has it been since xeiroe was around?" and such.. Um, I still don't really know you, and.. social ineptness, on both our parts, I think. I often have nothing to say in replies to your few LJ posts as our interests don't really overlap.. Met on LJ thanks to maully. You need to post more.lordnikon9 (since Sep. 17th - the day you got your LJ) - Oooh, Shiny! Heh, knew you from IRC before you got to LJ. All but one of the people on your friends list are on mine too. I don't remember how you got to IRC though.. wasn't that long ago compared to the rest of the regulars, but I consider you a full-fledged #asr regular.kimivalkyrie (since Sep. 14th) - first person I friended since I don't know how long ago.. Found through looking for people with similar interests several times, I saw a plea for tech support and answered - your reaction made my day, I lurked for a few days, then added you. You are awesome and I enjoy your company very much.darth_blade (since Sep. 9th or so) - You just appeared out of nowhere commenting "Freecell is evil. It was given to us by Vaernima." in a post of mine where I talked about my oh so exciting day at work. Your comment cracked me up, marked you as a fellow Elder Scrolls fan, so I thought "eh, why not?" and added you back. Haven't regretted it. :) Thanks for taking the effort to translate your posts to English. ^_^;_b6_ (since Aug. 17th) - long-time #asr semi-regular and friend from the GameFAQs boards, you got an LJ and never used it.And that's as far back as Semagic has logged. Everyone friended before that point are all people I know from GameFAQs and/or #asr.
And now this goes into my Memories so I can look at it a year from now and see how many of you are still here.
